Hostage Standoff in Thomasville

Law enforcement officials gathered briefly to plot how to send SWAT teams in to handle a compromising situation Thursday morning.

"A man called in and he had told dispatch he had three or four people hostage with a weapon. He was going to harm them if we didn't met his demands," says Capt. John Richards of the Thomas County Police Dept.

Minutes turned into hours as investigators tried to negotiate over the phone with the suspect, 39-year-old Joe Eidson of Thomas County, who police say claimed to have a firearm. In the meantime, neighbors began to worry about what was going on.

"This is really scary I live right hereon the corner and it's just scares me to death to know something like this is going on," said neighbor Glenda Golden.

After two and half hours of negotiating with the man, investigators say he chose to surrender and let all four of his relatives including a two-year-old child go without harming himself, or anyone else.

"That's our goal is when we have a situation like that to get out of it without anyone getting injured," said Richards.

The suspect was taken into custody and sent to the hospital for drug testing. An investigation is underway and charges are pending. His exact relationship to the toddler and the other hostages is not known at this time, but authorities say they are all related.

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